Ode to a Club Kid
by LitLover 101
Summary: Contains spoilers for TO S5x10 and 11. A One-Shot dedicated to one of my fav characters on TO, Joshua Rouza. The Mikaelsons and Co. gather together to celebrate Josh's life. RIP.


**Hello, my lovely readers. Due to no tributes to Josh, and his being one of my favorite TO characters; I felt compelled to write a story for him. I hope you like it. On with the show…**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own TheOriginals, all rights to the show (sadly) belong to Julie Plec and the CW.**

 **Ode to a Club Kid:**

 _Gather your love._

 _Gather your friends._

 _Do not sit, and mourn for me, my friends._

Mere days after another light dimmed, one night, in the city of New Orleans, a group of friends, family, and sometimes enemies, gathered together to celebrate the passing of one of their own.

"Is that a disco ball?" Kol Mikaelson's eyebrows wrinkled, and Davina Claire gave him a sharp look.

"If you don't like how it's decorated, _go_ _home_ ," his wife retorted, checking to make sure that the banner was in place, above her head. With a wave of her hand, she lifted the corner, and smiled as it moved into place. "Are they here?" She had to make sure, because she did not have the same acute hearing as her husband.

"They're coming," Kol replied, taking a seat at the bar.

Davina folded her hands in front of her waist and waited for the rest of their group to assemble. Klaus and Hope Mikaelson came in, with Marcel. Rebekah followed them in, with Freya and Keelin, coming in behind her. Vincent was the last to arrive. He did not look all that happy about being summoned back to NOLA, but it was for Josh; he came home.

"Hello, everyone!" Davina said, raising her hands and causing techno music to begin playing while lights flicked over them and roses began to bloom on every table top and around the bar.

"Neat trick," Klaus said as Elijah entered the bar and came to stand beside his brother.

"I'm sorry I'm late," Elijah told her, adjusting his black tie.

Davina smiled. "Not a problem. I'm just happy everyone came."

Klaus—who would not be Klaus if he didn't share his thoughts—jumped in. "Do you mind telling us why you have turned Rousseau's into a club frequented by children from the turn of the century?" he waved a finger around the room, indicting the music and lights.

"Josh _loved_ clubs, so, tonight Rousseau's is the club to be at." Davina watched Klaus try to stop himself from smiling, failed, and turned to make himself a drink. "The theme of tonight is _sharing_. When I met Josh, I was a girl, living in an attic, hiding from a group of witches who wanted me dead. And Josh was a boy who loved clubs and whose family could not accept him for who he was. I'd like to honor my first meeting with Josh by having all of us tell a story about him, that none of the others know about. _Deal_?"

Searching the faces of the other mourners; Davina smiled at them. "Who wants to go _first_?" she asked them. No one immediately raised their hands, and she felt her stomach sink until Rebekah stepped forward. " _Rebekah_?"

Sighing, Rebekah rolled her eyes and tossed her blonde locks over her shoulder. " _Right_. Well, since the rest of this lot can't think of a good story to tell; I guess I'll go first. This one happened when Marcel and I were living in New York. And Josh called, looking for Marcel…"

 _~0~_

" _Joshua, this had better be good. I was about to take a bloody bath," Rebekah seethed into the phone._

" _Yeah. Sorry. Wait. Is Marcel there?" Josh asked her, and Rebekah scoffed._

" _Are you asking me if my lover will be joining me in my bath?" Rebekah retorted._

 _Josh let out a nervous laugh, and then a chocking sound. "No. No. I would never ask that. I was calling because I thought he could help me with a problem I'm having."_

" _He's not here," Rebekah retorted, slipping into the bath and rolling her eyes._

 _There was the sound of silence on the other end of the phone, and then Josh sighed. "Yeah. Okay. Sorry I bothered you, Rebekah."_

" _Josh," Rebekah squeezed her eyes shut. She hated what she was about to say. "Maybe I can help."_

" _No. No. It's cool. I've got it handled. Not a problem. You know, if I'm a big pile of ashes next week; I had a great time this year." Josh let out another nervous laugh._

" _Josh, tell me," Rebekah snapped, losing all patience._

 _Josh groaned. "Okay. So there's this vampire. This big, hulking dude, and he's kind of…trying to take over, and he's got a lot of the other vampires scared of him. So, what do I do?"_

" _Kill him," Rebekah replied._

" _Really?" Josh's voice went up an octave._

" _Yes." Rebekah slid her foot out of the tub. "That's what Nik would do. Or Marcel. Don't allow some bully to give you lip. Or you can be merciful. But do not allow someone to tell you what to do."_

" _Right. Okay. Great talk," Josh replied and hung up._

 _~0~_

 _A few days later, Marcel came home, and he looked tired. "Is everything alright?" Rebekah inquired._

 _Marcel rolled his eyes. "Josh had a problem with some vamp in the quarter. But I guess he settled things with the guy."_

" _Oh? How did he do that?" Rebekah inquired._

" _Looks like the guy had a crush on some girl, and Josh gave him tips on how to woo her. Now, the other vamp is part of Josh's inner circle. Personally, I would have killed the guy," Marcel said, checking the contents of the fridge, and Rebekah grinned. She knew Josh was a survivor._

~0~

"And, so, I still can _not_ believe he's gone. Somehow I thought he'd survive us all," Rebekah said glumly, taking a glass of bourbon that Marcel offered her and clinking glasses with him.

The room grew silent until Kol jumped in. "I have a _wonderful_ Joshua story for you," he told them, and Davina shook her head, thinking she knew what he meant to tell them. " _Don't_ worry, darling, you'll like this one." Kol winked at her before continuing.

 _~0~_

 _Months after they moved to Saint Tropez, Kol proposed to Davina, and she accepted with that smile that just about killed him every time she flashed it his way. He loved her so much he'd do just about anything to make her happy._

 _That is why he felt his heart breaking every time Davina forced a smile as they talked about wedding planning. Yes, she'd made new friends in their new home. And they would have a lovely party. But Kol knew something would be missing for his little bride._

 _Picking up his cell phone; he made a call. "Hello, Joshua, I was hoping you could do me a favor…"_

 _Seven days later, Kol stood on a beach, watching Davina grinning so widely that he had to stop himself from running down the beach to collect her. Her white dress blew in the wind and she laughed as Josh walked her toward Kol. "Who gives this woman?" the officiate asked, and Josh grinned at Davina._

" _Her best friend, more like a brother," Josh said, kissing Davina's cheek, and placing her hand in Kol's. "Don't hurt her. Or I'll have to find a way to bulk up, and come and kick your ass." Josh tried to look menacing and Kol laughed._

" _I'll try my best," Kol turned to Davina. "Do you like your wedding present?" he asked her._

" _Yes," Davina enthused, glancing at Josh. "Thank you for coming."_

" _I wouldn't have missed it," Josh told her. "Now, get married, before, like, a billion homicidal witches decide to play wedding crashers."_

~0~

Kol kissed Davina before adding. "I also have _another_ story that involved Josh coming to see Davina, the day after the wedding, and seeing much more of his 'sister' than he cared to. _Who_ would like to hear that story?" He held up a hand and Davina smacked him on the shoulder.

" _Right_. I have a story of when I came to live with Marcellus, for a short time," Elijah told them. "Josh did not expect me to be there. Like Rebekah's story, mine involved Joshua having a problem with a bully…"

 _~0~_

" _Marcel!" Josh called, coming into the loft apartment that Marcel now shared with Elijah. "We've got another Klaus-problem…" he began to say, and trailed off when Elijah came into the living room. "Oh, Elijah. Hey! Didn't know you were here. That thing about the Klaus-problem. Turns out it's not a problem. Just… I should go. Bye."_

 _Josh turned to speed out of the room; when Elijah moved in front of him. Josh blinked and gulped. "Don't worry, Joshua, I do not plan on killing you. Unless you intend on harming my brother, in any way."_

" _Nope. Not at all. I'm going to go, that way," Josh pointed behind Elijah, at the doorway, which Elijah blocked._

" _Or you could tell me of your problem, and I can attempt to help you solve it, in a manner in which you keep your head," Elijah pronounced with a slow smile._

 _Sighing, Josh nodded. "Well, Klaus has been allowing the wolves—who came to shack up at your place—to bully the vampires in the quarter. And I thought Marcel could help me find a way to get him to—I don't know—stop doing that."_

" _Why not ask Aiden? Or Jackson?" Elijah inquired, folding his arms over his chest._

 _Josh's brows rose. "Well, yeah. I could do that. But Jackson's so busy with… Yeah. And Aiden's trying to be supportive of his pack. He wouldn't want it to look like he was taking sides, just because he's dating a vamp." Shrugging, Josh rolled his eyes. "Anyway. Not your problem. So, I'll go."_

" _Talk to Hayley," Elijah advised. "The wolves will respond to her."_

" _Or you could talk to her," Josh replied, and then his eyes rolled to the ceiling. "Okay. Sorry. That was not cool. I'll talk to her. Thanks." Nodding, Josh stepped around Elijah. "I guess I'll see you. Here. Which is new, and not weird, at all. Bye."_

 _Elijah chuckled and wondered how the boy survived this city._

~0~

Sighing, Elijah picked up a glass. "To Joshua, he was a _very_ brave young man." He clinked glasses with Klaus, who smirked at the rest of the group. "I suppose it is my turn?"

~0~

 _In Joshua's first year as a vampire, Klaus thought of the boy's usefulness as nothing more than being used as leverage to hold over Davina's and Marcel's heads. Their love for the boy would also be his undoing. But as the year wore on, Klaus began to admire Josh. However, he'd be damned if he'd admit it._

" _So, who's Caroline?" Josh asked, Klaus, peering over Klaus' shoulder as Klaus composed a letter to a girl he'd known in Mystic Falls._

" _What?" Klaus demanded, turning from his desk, to look up at Josh._

 _Josh's eyes rounded, and he backed away from the desk. "Never mind. I'm minding my own business. Over here." Josh moved to sit on a couch, in the room, and examined his nails._

" _Caroline is a girl I met in a small town. She's in college now. And she's building a life for herself. A life that does not include me," Klaus retorted, grimly. Sealing the letter, he tossed it inside a drawer, with the other letters he'd not sent to her._

 _Josh turned to look at him. "She's the girl?" he asked Klaus, who narrowed his eyes at him. "Hey!" Josh held up his hands. "Don't kill me! Okay! You can compel away this conversation. If you want. I was just…trying to connect with you. Thought maybe we could pretend to be people, for a sec. Sorry. My bad."_

 _Rolling his eyes, Klaus stood up, and moved to sit across from Josh. "She's the girl. If you must know. And if you ever tell another living soul, you will spend the last days of your life in such sweet agony –"_

" _Torture, Mayhem. Got it," Josh broke in, nodding._

 _Klaus smiled, settling into his chair. "You went to college, too."_

" _I did," Josh nodded. "Not like it did me much good. And I didn't get to finish. Because of the whole being turned into a vampire thing kind of ended that dream."_

 _Frowning, Klaus inhaled, and then he stood up. "Yes. That is a pity. Have a good day, Josh."_

 _Hearing Josh inhale, Klaus smirked, but he did not turn back around._

 _The next day, Klaus made some calls, and then he kept tabs to make sure that Joshua returned to his studies. Night classes. A minor in Computer Science. Might be useful one day. Klaus began to understand that Josh had many more skills than he'd believed the boy to have, and he might be much more useful to Klaus in the future. Klaus would see to it that boy survived, because he could be merciful; when he felt like it._

~0~

Klaus took a sip of his drink. "Bloody waste," he grumbled, and Davina came over. She hugged him, to his shock.

Hope was the next to tell her tale of Josh. "So, mine is _little_ bit embarrassing…"

~0~

 _Roaming the boarding school, thirteen-year-old Hope Mikaelson, felt bored. She missed her family more than ever, and had been crying, non-stop, for the past two days. Other kids thought she was losing her mind. Her mom said it was natural at her age._

 _Walking around a corner, Hope nearly ran into a boy, who looked like he might be a senior in high school. "Hi," she said, tucking her darkening locks behind her ear._

" _Hi, Hope. Do you remember me?" he asked her._

 _Tilting her head, Hope assessed the situation. Family friend? Family enemy? Someone else entirely? You never knew. And you could never be too careful. "Ummm…"_

" _Josh," Josh told her. "I'm friends with Marcel. And your mom. Your mom asked me to come, and check up on you. Thought we could hang out, and talk about boys, and music, and whatever you want to talk about." Sliding his hands into his back pockets, Josh offered her a smile, and Hope grinned up at him._

" _I remember you. You're friends with Aunt Davina," Hope said with a laugh. "You want to see my room?"_

" _Sure. Strange guy, going into a teenage girl's room. That's not going to raise any eyebrows," Josh said, but he followed her back to her room anyway._

" _So, there's this boy. Roman. He's sooo cute," Hope began, when she noticed Josh stop in the doorway._

" _Hope, honey, something smells like blood," Josh said, stepping into the room, and sniffing._

" _Oh. Um?" Hope bit her lower lip, not knowing where the smell of blood could be coming from. She hadn't cast any spells anytime lately._

 _Josh walked around the room, and then he sniffed her. "It's you."_

" _Me?" Hope's eye widened. She looked herself over. "I'm not bleeding!" she cried._

 _Josh's eyes moved to his feet. "Are you sure?" he asked her, unable to make eye contact._

" _Yeah. I mean. I don't see any blood," Hope's thoughts turned, and then she let out a moan. "Oh, God!"_

" _You need me to get you something. Caroline? Um. Chocolate. Tissues. Your mom?" Josh moved toward the door, looking like he'd like to be anywhere else._

" _No. I'm going to go to the bathroom, to take care of this." Hope headed for the door and Josh moved out of her way. Pausing, Hope looked at him. "Can you not go? I know this is weird. And uncomfortable. But I don't want to be alone right now. And my mom can't come, for at least a couple of hours. And my dad can't be here. And I'd like it if some part of family was here. And I'm rambling…and you're the closest person to family I've got here."_

 _Nodding, Josh sat down on the side of her bed. "I can stay for as long as you need me."_

 _And Hope knew that Josh would be there for her. It felt like an instinct. She knew she could trust him. He was exactly who she needed him to be, at the exact moment she needed him to be there. And it was nice to have a new friend, to make an awkward experience bearable. She knew she'd never forget his kindness that day._

~0~

And Hope never did. Brushing a tear away; she laughed. "So, I bet no one else has a story that odd to tell?" She hoped they did, because her dad had picked up a whole bottle of bourbon, and began to drink, directly from the bottle.

Freya turned to look at Vincent, who had been really quiet so far. "Vince and I have a Josh story. And it's _nothing_ awkward," she added with a chuckle, smirking at Vincent, who nodded at her, seeming to know where she was going with this.

 _~0~_

 _Not long after Marcel and the Mikaelsons left town, Josh, Hayley, Freya and Vincent gathered together at Rousseau's. They needed to come up with a plan, to deal with the different factions. And none of them seemed to be able to agree on what to do. But Josh seemed to know what they should not do._

" _I think we should stop killing each other," Josh said, firmly, looking at the other three._

" _Agreed." Vincent held up a hand, and looked at the others. "I'll make the pledge if you're going to." He looked to Freya, who took his hand, squeezing it. Hayley held out her own hand, and placed it over Freya's. Josh placed his hand over the others. "Right. From this day forward. We will have a real peace in this town," Vincent pronounced._

" _And how are we to achieve this peace?" Freya asked them, sitting up in her seat, and looking at the others._

 _Vincent looked hesitant. "We'll have to talk to people. Make them see that the old way is how we got into this mess in the first place."_

" _Elijah tried that before. He had representatives of the factions sign a treaty," Hayley reminded them. "And it didn't work."_

" _Because it was violated," Vincent reminded her. "Marcel did a stupid thing. And we all paid the price for it."_

" _He did what he thought was right," Josh said, shifting on his seat._

" _Do you think what he did was right, Josh?" Freya inquired._

 _Josh looked at her. "Are you really going to ask me about what I think is right and wrong; given what you did to Davina?"_

 _Freya's gaze darkened. "I did what I did for my family."_

" _And that's the point, Freya," Vincent jumped in. "We kill for our people. And what has that gotten us, other than more bloodshed?"_

 _Josh stepped in. "So, what we do is throw a party."_

" _A party?" Hayley looked confused._

" _Yeah. We throw party. And it's a celebration; for all of the factions. I'll have to keep my guys from sinking their fangs into anyone, but we show them that you change enemies into friends, or at least say that we can party together. Show them that this is a day where we do not rule by scaring people into obeying us, and that everyone has a say in how things work around here. No more intolerance. No more fighting over turf. This is our city. All of us. And we live, and we love, and we work to protect our home. Together." Josh looked at the others at the table, and Freya felt tears coming on._

" _Have you ever thought about running for president?" Hayley teased Josh._

 _Josh shook his head. "Never. Those guys are more evil than Klaus."_

 _The group laughed and clinked their glasses together._

~0~

"To Josh, who made a fine partner in keeping this city together," Vincent said, lifting his glass. "We are worse off without him."

Freya nodded, openly crying, and knocking back her drink.

"My Josh moment happened after I came back to New Orleans," Marcel told them, looking at Rebekah.

~0~

" _Hey, Marcel. You're back!" Josh said, clapping Marcel on the back as Marcel embraced him. "How long are you planning on staying?" Josh looked somewhat nervous, and Marcel felt a little bit offended. He'd just lost the love of his life, and, now, he felt like his friend was rejecting him, too._

" _I'm back for the rest of my life; now that Rebekah dumped me," Marcel said, crossing the floor of the apartment, and grabbing the decanter._

" _What?" Josh sounded shocked, and the look on his face said the same. "She knows she can't do better than you."_

 _Marcel let out a laugh. "I wish. I really, really wish that was true." He shook his head, and took a sip from his drink._

" _Well, she's an idiot," Josh said, taking a seat. "Or she's suffering from amnesia. Are you sure she knew who you were?"_

 _Laughing, again, Marcel took a seat across from Josh. "I missed you, man."_

" _I missed you, too, Marcel." Josh shook his head. "I thought you and Rebekah were going to make it work this time."_

" _Me, too," Marcel said, finishing his drink._

" _She'll come back," Josh said, with much more confidence than Marcel felt._

 _Marcel shook his head. "I doubt it."_

" _She loves you. I saw it. Hell, I think the whole city saw it. I know that Klaus saw it. And you survived to tell the tale. So, yeah, you and Rebekah. You're end game. Trust me." Josh got up, and patted Marcel on the shoulder. "And until then; you've got me."_

~0~

Shoulders slumping, Marcel held up his drink. "To Josh, you were my friend and my _family_. I'm going to miss you." Rebekah came to sit beside him, and took his hand, pressing her lips to his cheek. He felt their tears mixing together.

Davina inhaled. "So, here is my Josh moment," she told them, wiping at a stray tear.

~0~

" _Davina?" Josh came into the mausoleum._

 _Davina continued to shake her head, staring at Kol, in Kaleb's body. "He's dead, Josh. My boyfriend is dead," she moaned, tears running down both cheeks and she sobbed._

" _I know," Josh closed both arms around her. "I'm so sorry, Davina." Pulling her to her feet, Josh scooped her up, and carried her past Klaus Mikaelson, who stood guard outside. Josh nodded at Klaus before taking Davina out of the graveyard. He set her in the passenger side of his car and drove her back to Marcel's place._

" _I can't sleep tonight," Davina muttered as Josh laid her down in a guest bedroom._

" _I know," Josh replied, and he slipped into bed with her, curling his body into hers. "And I know this hurts. So much. And I wish I could make it better…" He pressed her head into his chest and she closed her eyes. "I would do anything to help you, Davina."_

" _Just stay with me," Davina said, and Josh tightened his hold on her._

" _I will. I promise. Whenever you need me. I'll always coming running," Josh promised Davina, and she nodded. At some point, she fell asleep and woke to find Josh, still snuggled up to her. She smiled because she knew he would always keep his promises to her. She did not know what she would do without him…_

~0~

Davina still did not know what she would do without Josh. "I love you, Josh. Wherever you are, I hope you are happy. Hope you know peace. You will _always_ be my best friend, and my family. Say 'Hi' to Aiden for me, and I'll see you again, one of these days."

Leading the way out of the doors, Davina lifted her hands, and set off a series of fireworks. And for a moment, she thought she saw a glimpse of Josh, standing across the street from her, Aiden by his side. Josh mouthed, "I love you, too," and then he disappeared. Davina laughed, even as tears wet her cheeks. She knew she would see him again. It would be like time had never passed. And there would be millions of roses, everywhere they looked.

 **Thank you for reading, faving, following and reviewing.**

 **Peace,**

 **Jessica**


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